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How to Reduce Labor Costs and Increase Workplace Safety with TempCovers™

BY: Christina Hansen

When performing maintenance and repair tasks on commercial, residential, or industrial panel boards, it’s vital to not only protect yourself with the proper Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), but also to safeguard those around you from making accidental – and possibly deadly – contact with live circuitry.

As part of its efforts to improve all aspects of workplace safety, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires that breaker boxes, electrical panels, and indoor electrical lighting have their covers reattached each time the qualified technician working on them needs to leave the immediate vicinity. While the lock out/tag out practice of covering panel boards in the absence of repair personnel continually saves lives and prevents on-the-job injuries, it does have a downside: it can greatly increase the time it takes to complete a task, and, by extension, run up labor costs.

Fortunately, Grace Engineered Products realized a solution to that problem, one which saves time and money without sacrificing safety or tag-out integrity: TempCovers™. These non-conductive placards are backed with strong magnetic strips that hold them securely onto open electrical boxes, thereby creating a barrier between unauthorized personnel and the live circuitry. In addition, TempCovers™ are emblazoned with an unmistakable danger sign and warning messages that warn passers-by of the high voltage hazard lurking beneath the cover.

Their safety features are undeniable, but if you need convincing as to the financial benefits that come along with TempCovers™, we think that a little number crunching will be all the proof you need. Take a look at the following figures:

A person qualified to work on high voltage circuits is paid an average of $60 per hour.

The MSRP of 14" x 24" TempCover™ is around $50.00.

It takes an average of 5 minutes to remove a 14? x 24? dead front panel, and another 7 minutes to re-install it (that’s a total of 12 minutes wasted every time you or one of your employees steps away to go on break, use the restroom, or retrieve a part from a service vehicle).

It takes only seconds to install and remove a TempCovers™ service panel.

The minimum OSHA fine for leaving an electrical box uncovered and unattended is $600.

That means that a $50 TempCover™ pays for itself in just under 5 uses.

As you can see from a few simple calculations, TempCovers™ not only greatly increase the efficiency of maintenance and repair personnel, but also cut down on labor costs. Given the figures we just looked at, a single TempCover™ can easily pay for itself in its very first day on the job, and has the potential to save you anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars in OSHA fines over its lifetime. Isn’t it time to try a TempCover™?